ISLAMABAD: The electoral entity has fixed two cases related to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)—the intra-party elections case and the accounts statement case—for hearing on the coming Wednesday (December 4).

The related list issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday listed only these two cases for hearing on Wednesday morning. In the last hearing of PTI intra-party elections case on November 14, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sought time from the ECP to submit the required record, taking the plea that the PTI’s entire record related to this case was confiscated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) during a raid at the party’s Central Secretariat this July.

The ECP bench accepted Khan’s request and adjourned the case till December 4, directing the defence side to submit the related record by the given date.

For the political parties registered with the ECP, holding intra-party polls is a mandatory requirement under the relevant election laws.

Generally, these elections have nothing more than symbolic value— and the ECP mostly accepts the related certificates submitted to it by the political parties regarding completion of the party polls.

But, in case of the PTI intra-party polls, the matter has remained lingering since June 2022 with ECP having rejected the legality of these elections thrice.

Apart from that, the hearing of PTI accounts statement case was scheduled on November 26 before the ECP de-listed this case citing prevailing law and order situation, and road blockages in the federal capital.

The submission of the annual accounts statement of the previous financial year to the ECP is a mandatory requirement for every political party under the relevant electoral laws. The PTI has taken the stance that it could not submit its annual accounts statement for last financial year 2023-2024 within the stipulated period due to the confiscation of the related financial record by FIA during the July raid.

The Section 210(1) of the Elections Act 2017 provides that a political party shall submit to the Commission within 60 days from the close of a financial year a consolidated statement of its accounts.

A political party shall be eligible to obtain an election symbol for contesting elections for the Parliament, provincial assemblies or local government on submission of its statement of accounts—in the light of Section 215(2) of the Elections Act 2017.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024